More election-related news. Here are two arguments against an amendment to the Utah constitution
that, if approved by voters on November 2, would establish a partially independent legislative ethics
commission. The arguments are made in an <a href="http://vote.utah.gov/on-my-ballot/issue-details/issue/177461382&quot; target="”_blank”">official
ballot
issue publication</a> of the state of Utah.<br>
<br>

I learned recently that the Luzerne County (PA) ethics pledge movement,
which I wrote about in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/comparison-two-county-ethics-initiati…; target="”_blank”">May</a>
and <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/ethics-pledge-thats-too-much-and-too-…; target="”_blank”">September</a>,

What is the worst local campaign finance violation? According to <a href="http://www.dailynews.com/crime/ci_16429092&quot; target="”_blank”">an article yesterday
from the Los Angeles <i>Daily News</i></a>, it appears to be political money
laundering. Mark Abrams, a former Beverly Hills developer, was fined
$108,000 yesterday, and $270,000 for similar violations back in 2005.<br>
<br>

All ethics oversight cannot be done by an ethics commission. Much
oversight needs to be done outside of the complaint process. Even when
complaints are made, a lack of proper oversight can leave a big hole in
the facts available to an EC. I came across such a situation in <a href="http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/oct/24/role-firefighters-wrecking-s…; target="”_blank”">yesterday's
Bristol

According to <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Vancouver+police+board+seeks+change+ma…; target="”_blank”">an
article
in the Vancouver <i>Sun</i></a>, the mayor of Vancouver, BC is
concerned about the conflict between his chairing the city's police board and
his role in approving the police budget. He said, "It's difficult for

According to <a href="http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/town-council/council-resolution-…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Palm Beach <i>Daily News</i></a>, Florida law "forbids
government bodies from advocating for voters to vote yes or no in a
referendum election, and from spending funds to advertise for that

City Ethics' Carla Miller attended an international conference on public administration to present a paper on public corruption entitled <b>"Ethics, Elephants and Enigmas"</b> Shown here with panelists that Ms. Miller moderated on day 1 - October 23. The panel was themed: <b>"Management Issues"</b> with panel members from Bucharest, Romania, Bejing (2) and Shenyang, China.

Public service integrity always revolves around managing
conflicts of interest.<span>  </span>It entails
balancing personal interest and obligations of service to the community.<span>  </span>... Where you stand directly
influences what you see.<span>  </span>We see things
involving others with a clarity which escapes us when we have a
personal involvement. <span> </span>Not infrequently, we
do not see impropriety in our own actions, and cannot understand why

According to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527023033395045755664817617902…; target="”_blank”">an
article in today's <i>Wall Street Journal</i></a>, business organizations are arguing
that government employee unions have a conflict of interest that should
prevent them from supporting candidates for office. "Public-sector

Indirect benefits are one of the most problematic issues in government
ethics. Usually, indirect benefits relate to an official's
relationships, that is, where the official receives not a direct
financial benefit, but satisfaction or an indirect benefit from a financial benefit
going instead to a relative, employer, customer, or substantial political
supporter.<br>
<br>
But there are other indirect benefits, for example, benefits that go
not to a business that employs the official or his spouse, but to the